Head covering with non-visible, built-in wig/toupee clip

ABSTRACT

An adapted head covering ( 20 ), such as a skullcap or yarlmuka, with sewn-in wig/toupee clips ( 10 ), which provides a durable, comfortable, high strength and convenient securing means to the head of the wearer. The adapted head covering is comprised of one or more monolithic wig/toupee clips ( 10 ) and a head covering ( 24 ) made of any suitable material such as leather, cloth or crochet. The adapted head covering&#39;s ( 20 ) durable securing mechanism is strong enough to ensure that the head covering ( 20 ) remain firmly secured to the head of the wearer during strenuous activities such as dancing, athletic competitions and exercise. In use, one or more of the wig/toupee clips ( 10 ) are sewn in to the inner surface of the head covering within its outer periphery, so as to not be visible when the head covering is worn. The head covering assembly ( 20 ) is slid in a backward direction to engage the wearer&#39;s hair strands ( 22 ) then the wig/toupee clips ( 10 ), engaged through the outer surface of the head covering ( 24 ), are pressed and flexed downwards trapping the hair strands and firmly securing the head covering assembly ( 20 ) to head of the wearer.

CROSS-REFRENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISITNG OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to head coverings such as skullcaps or yarmulkas and more particularly to an improved means of securing such head coverings, to the head of a wearer such that, the securing means is strong enough to withstand strenuous activities and is not visible when the head covering is worn.

2. Prior Art

Certain types of head coverings are small relative to the head of the wearer or do not firmly surround the head. If not secured in some fashion to the head, such small head coverings can easily fall off when the head is tilted, is moved suddenly, or is exposed to a gust of wind. Moreover, without the aid of a high strength securing mechanism, head coverings cannot be worn during dancing, athletic competitions or exercise, which, for example, is a problem for Orthodox Jews, who are required to wear head coverings at all times. Typically, the wearer resorts to a bobby pin or hairclip to grasp the edge of the head covering along with the wearer's hair to retain the head covering in position. While the use of hair clips in this fashion is effective in retaining the head covering on the head of the wearer, it suffers from the disadvantages that the clip is visible when in place and thus, is aesthetically lacking. Moreover, the clip is separable from the head coverings and is easily lost or misplaced. Furthermore, when used during athletic competition, these external hair clips or bobby pins can be a hazard to the wearer and to the others around him or her.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,994 to Herzberg (1993), an arrangement to overcome the first of these shortcomings is disclosed. A pocket formed on the interior side of the head coverings receives one arm of the hairclip so that when the clip is inserted and closed to grasp the hair of the wearer, it is not visible on the exterior of the head coverings. While solving the aesthetic problem, this arrangement has other drawbacks. First, creation of the pocket or pockets requires additional manufacturing steps, which add considerably to the cost of what ordinarily is a relatively inexpensive item. Secondly, since the clip is completely separate, it is still subject to being lost or misplaced.

Chinstraps are known to retain hats on the heads of wearers, but these are often uncomfortable and unattractively visible. Other expedients have been proposed, such as one or more pieces of one half of a Velcro® closure attached to a band tied around the wearer's head, with the hat having mating halves of the closure affixed to the inner band of the hat, used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,079 to Johnson (1991). Obviously, such an arrangement is applicable only to hats or caps which completely surround the head of the wearer.

Still further, other expedients have been proposed, such as devices using either a conventional two-arm clip as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,419 to Perlsweig (2000) or a tension clip as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,586 to Hebenstreit (2000), both of which are commonly used by women for holding strands of hair in desired configurations. The hair clips are attached the inner surface of the head coverings by a releasable attachment means, such as Velcro®. The devices, attached to the head covering by Velcro®, thus secure the head covering to the hair of the wearer. While the use of the two-arm clip or the tension clip are effective in retaining the head covering to the head of the wearer during normal head movement and normal wind gusts, they suffers from the following disadvantages:

(a) The clips are intended to be attached to the head coverings using a Velcro® device, in which, the hooks mechanism is either sewn or adhesively attached to the uppermost part of the clip and the flexible loops mechanism is either sewn or adhesively attached to the inner surface of the head covering. The clips become attached to the head covering when both mechanisms are manually pressed together. Given that the function of both the two-arm clip and the tension clip is simply, for women to hold strands of hair in a desired configuration and by nature is not designed to append a foreign entity to hair, it is difficult to attach either of the clips to the head covering by a means other than that of the Velcro® device described above. While the Velcro® device is strong enough to keep the two-arm clip and the tension clip attached to the head covering during normal conditions, its releasable hoop and loops mechanism lacks the strength capacity to durably secure the clips to the head covering during excessive movement, forces from impact and the effects of moisture from human sweat, all of which occur during strenuous activities like dancing, athletic competitions and exercise.

Furthermore, both of the clips are not designed to be permanently appended to a foreign entity, it is difficult, for example, for a manufacturer to permanently attach the two-arm clip or the tension clip by sewing them directly into the head covering. Therefore, both the two-arm clip's and the tension clip's designs lack the potential to remain durably and permanently attached to a head covering and will become unattached from the head covering during strenuous activities like dancing, athletic competition and exercise.

(b) The two-arm clip is bulky and complex to operate. A wearer must engage the pivoting arm and then squeeze the clip between two fingers to grasp the hair strands. Obviously, if the head covering has two hair clip assemblies it will be even more difficult for the wearer to put the head covering on.

(c) When installed in the head coverings, depending on the particular size used, the two-arm clip must inherently be of a certain depth, making it uncomfortable for the wearer. Also, the mechanism of the two-arm hair clip which engages the head of the wearer is straight edged and does not conform to the contours of the head, making it even more uncomfortable to wear, especially for extended periods of time.

(d) The two arms of the two-arm clips are attached by a pivoting device. The arms are coupled together at one end via a spring loaded pivot and are bent or curved outwardly with respect to each other at the other end. Since the two-arm clip has moving pieces as part of its essential function, the hair clip is highly prone to malfunction, even in normal use. Furthermore, the tension clip is attached to the head covering using a second piece of hardware called a pile fastener. The additional hardware piece increases the likelihood that the mechanism will malfunction during strenuous activities.

(e) The two-arm clip and the tension clip are designed to create desired configurations in women's hair and in turn, not designed for the attachment of foreign entities, such as head coverings, to hair. Therefore, the two-arm clip and the tension clip lack components with the strength capacity necessary to keep the entire head covering assembly secured to the head of the wearer during strenuous activities like dancing, athletic competition and exercise.

BACKROUND OF THE INVENTION—OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of, the invisibility of the clips and the fact that the clips cannot become misplaced, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:

(a) to provide a hair clip with a mechanism for securing head coverings to the heads of wearers, which uses a comb component that firmly traps hair strands within its grasp. It will thus have the necessary strength capacity to keep the head covering firmly secured to the head of a wearer during dancing, athletic competition and exercise.

(b) to provide a simple monolithic hair clip device, which is only one piece of hardware and thus less prone to failure and malfunctioning.

(c) to provide a concave hair clip, which, when attached to a head covering and secured to the head of the wearer, is comfortable and when engaged does not push into the head of the wearer but instead, smoothly fits the contour of the head.

(d) to provide the wearer of the head covering a simple and convenient method of securing the head covering to his or her head, even when two hair clips are being employed.

(e) to provide the invention's manufacturer a more efficient and cost saving method for permanently attaching the hair clips to the head coverings. Given that the wig/toupee clip's nature is to actually append foreign entities to hair, the hair clip already comes with pre-manufactured sew holes which will facilitate the durable and permanent attachment of the wig/toupee clip to the head covering. To ensure that the clip remain attached to the head covering during extreme conditions, such as the force of impact and moisture from sweat, which are experienced during dancing, athletic competition and exercise, the manufacturer need only sew the wig/toupee clip directly into the head covering.

Other objects and advantages of my invention are to provide the consumer with a more aesthetically pleasing head covering assembly. Given that typically head coverings come in an abundant spectrum of colors and materials, a consumer may want the built-in hair clip to be of a color similar to that of the head covering. The two-arm clip and the tension clip, typically come only in metallic silver which may look aesthetically unpleasing attached to a head covering that is of a completely different color scheme. Alternatively, the wig/toupee clip employed in my invention is readily available in many colors and will be consistent with the color scheme of the head coverings. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the invention, a head covering such as a skullcap or yarmulka, adapted with built-in specialty wig/toupee clips, which are sewn directly within the perimeter of the head covering through the sew holes found in the wig/toupee clips.

DRAWINGS—FIGURES

In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetical suffixes.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of my head covering assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of my head covering assembly.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view in detail, of the opened wig/toupee clip used in my head covering assembly.

FIG. 3B shows a perspective view in detail, of the wig/toupee clip used in the head covering assembly, while closed and secured to the hair strands of the wearer.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the method of securing the head covering assembly to the head of the wearer.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed perspective of the Velcro® hair clip assembly in the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2.

DRAWINGS - Reference Numerals 10 Wig/Toupee clip 12 Sew Holes 14 Faceplate 16 Rubber coated member 18 Comb 20 Head covering assembly 22 Hair Strands 24 Head Covering 26 Backward motion 28 Downward force 30 Thread 32 Adhesive 34 Hooks 36 Loops 38 Release paper 40 Velcro ® clip assembly

DETAILED DESCRPITION—FIGS. 1, 3A, 3B—PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 (perspective view). The head covering 24, here shown as a skullcap or yarmulka, is made of any suitable material such as cloth, crochet or leather and is generally circular in shape. Attached to the inner surface of the head covering 24 is a pair of specialty wig/toupee clips 10 diametrically opposite to one another and totally within the periphery of the head covering 24. Although two wig/toupee clips 10 are shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, one or more such wig/toupee clips 10 spaced as desired may be used in accordance with the invention. The wig/toupee clips 10 are attached to the head covering 24 by tightly sewn thread 30, which is passed through each of the four sew holes 12 and the textile of the head covering 24. Sewing is a well-known process and need not be further described.

The specialty wig/toupee clip 10 used in the invention as illustrated in FIG. 1, is shown in detail in FIG. 3A and 3B. I presently prefer that the wig/toupee clip 10 be made of metal aluminum and be 2.8 cm in length and 1.3 cm in width. However, the clip 10 could be made of any other type of metal or plastic as well any other length and width. The wig/toupee clip 10 has four sew holes 12 at each corner of the hair clip's faceplate 14. The front member of the faceplate 14 is coated in a vinyl rubber coating 16. While the hair clip 10 is in the opened condition the faceplate 14 flexes concavely. Extruding perpendicularly from the faceplate 14 are parallel members shaped like a comb 18 that in the open position are also flexed concavely. As illustrated in FIG. 3B (closed wig/toupee hair clip), as the faceplate 14 is flexed upward, the comb 18 flexes upward as well, and pushes up against the rubber coated member 16 trapping the engaged hair strands 22 in between the comb 18 and the rubber coated member 16. The rubber coated member 16 provides the necessary friction to keep the hair strands 22 firmly secured in place.

Operation—Preferred Embodiment —FIGS. 4A AND 4B

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the method of securing the head covering assembly 20 to the head of the wearer. In FIG. 4A the wearer's fingers grasp the head covering assembly 20 by the wig/toupee clips 10 and push it in a slightly backward motion 26. The combs 18, being flexed open as shown in FIG. 3A, will engage the hair strands 22 of the wearer. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the wearer will then apply a slight downward force 28 to the head covering assembly 20, by specifically pushing down directly onto the head covering's 24 outer surface and directly above of the attached wig/toupee hair clips 10. The downward force 28 will flex the faceplate 14 which in turn will flex the combs 18, pushing them up against the rubber coated member 16, firmly securing the engaged hair strands 22, as described in detail above and as illustrated in FIG. 3B. Thus, the ease of the securing method is achieved by the simple flexing mechanism of the wig/toupee clip 10.

Description—Alternative Embodiment—FIGS. 2 and 5

Referring to FIG. 2, in another embodiment of the invention, the wig/toupee clip 10 is attached to the head covering 24 using one half of a segment of a two piece releasable attachment means 40, preferably of the type identified by the trademark “Velcro”. As is well known, a Velcro® closure compromises a first piece of material, one surface of which is covered with loops 36 and a second piece of material with one surface covered by flexible hooks 34. When the hooks 34 and loops 36 are manually pressed together, they firmly, but releasably, engage to hold the two pieces of material together.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the smooth surface of one piece of the attachment means 36 is permanently secured to the top of the faceplate 14 on the wig/toupee clip 10. The mating piece is provided with an adhesive such as contact cement, on its smooth surface covered by a peelable release paper 38 (FIG. 5). It is firmly pressed against the inner surface of the head covering 24. The assembly is positioned sufficiently inward of the periphery of the head covering 24 so that it is not visible when the skullcap is worn. The resulting head covering assembly 20 is then secured to the head for the wearer, by the same method explained above and as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 5, clip assemblies using Velcro® 40 would be made available as a kit, for the attachment to the skullcap of the wearer. A plurality of upper Velcro® strips may be packaged with a single clip assembly, the extra strips being available for attachment to additional skullcaps, so that a single clip may be used with a number of head coverings.

Operation—Alternative Embodiment—FIGS. 4A AND 4B

Although FIGS. 4A and 4B show the wearer securing a head covering assembly 20 with two diametrically opposed wig/toupee clips 10, the invention's alternative embodiments, using one or more clips, operates in the same way as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Conclsion, ramifications, and Scope

Accordingly, the reader will see that the use of the a wig/toupee clip in the invention provides the advantage of a high strength securing method, which will firmly keep the head covering on the wearer's head during strenuous activities, like dancing, athletic competition and exercise. Moreover, because the wig/toupee clip is one piece of hardware, which uses bending and not moving parts, it will not have a tendency to malfunction, and will thus, be more durable. Also, the wig/toupee clip has the advantage that its concave shape makes the clip more comfortable to use. The use of the wig/toupee clip further provides the wearer with an easy and convenient means of securing the head covering to the head. Furthermore, given that the wig/toupee clip's nature is to append foreign entities to hair, it comes manufactured with sew holes which easily facilitate the permanent attachment of the hair clip to the head covering. The sewing capability inherent in the wig/toupee clip provides the potential for the high strength and durable attachment of the clip to the head covering. Still further, attaching a wig/toupee clip to a head covering such as a skullcap or yarmulka has additional advantages, such as;

it permits the use of clips in a variety of colors without requiring the manufacturer to use a separate facility for the compounding of the powdered or liquid pigments needed in the production of colored hair clips;

it permits the manufacturer to attach the wig/toupee clip with a textile pocket built into the inner surface of the head covering for added attachment strength and aesthetic value

it permits using one or more wig/toupee clips in the adapted head covering.

it permits the two diametrically opposed wig/toupee clips to be installed facing in opposite directions from each other, to further enhance the head covering assembly's securing ability.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the wig/toupee clips can be made of materials other than aluminum and can have alternate dimensions. Also, the parallel members of the wig/toupee clip's comb can be of other another shape, such as looped.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. A means for securing a hat to the head of the wearer, comprising: (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member, both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member. (b) said clip being directly sewn into said hat; (c) said hat is secured to the head of the wearer by said clip, said clip is entirely beneath the hat; whereby said hat, secured by said clip, will fasten durably, comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 2. A device for securing the hat of claim 1 to the head of the wearer comprising: (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member; (b) a releasable attachment means having first and second parts releasably secured to each other; (c) said first part being adapted to be permanently attached to the inner surface of the hat within its periphery; (d) said second part being permanently secured to the back of said hairclip; (e) said hat is secured to the head of the wearer by said device, said device is entirely beneath the hat; whereby said hat, secured by said device will fasten comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein one of said first and second parts of said attachment means comprises a surface covered with flexible loops and the other of said parts comprises a surface covered with flexible hooks, said loops and hooks on said respective surfaces being releasably engageable with each other when manually pressed together.
 4. A device for securing the hat of claim 1 to the head of the wearer comprising: (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular; (b) a releasable attachment means having first and second parts releasably secured to each other; (c) said first part being adapted to be permanently attached to the inner surface of the hat within its periphery; (d) said second part being permanently secured to the back of said hairclip by an adhesive; (e) said hat is secured to the head of the wearer by said device, said device is entirely beneath the hat; whereby said hat, secured by said device will fasten comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 5. A device for securing the hat of claim 1 to the head of the wearer comprising: (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member; (b) a releasable attachment means having first and second parts releasably secured to each other; (c) an adhesive on one surface of said part; (d) a sheet of release material covering said adhesive; (e) said first part being adapted to be permanently adhesively attached to the inner surface of said hat within its periphery upon removal of said sheet of release material; (f) said second part being permanently secured the back of said hairclip by an adhesive; (g) said hat is secured to head of the wearer by said device, said device is entirely beneath the hat; whereby said hat, secured by said device will fasten comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 6. In combination, (a) a head covering adapted to be worn on the head of the wearer; (b) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member; (c) a two-part releasable attachment means, one part comprising a corresponding piece of hooked material, one part of said attachment means being secured to the inner surface of said head covering within its periphery and the other part being secured to the back of said hairclip.
 7. The combination of claim 6, wherein said head covering is a skullcap having a generally circular outer periphery and shaped to conform to the head of the wearer.
 8. The combination of claim 6, wherein said attachment means is adhesively secured to the inner surface of said head covering.
 9. A kit for adapting a plurality of head coverings to be separately secured to head of the wearer, said kit comprising; (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member; (b) a releasable attachment means having a plurality of first parts and a second part, each of said plurality of first parts adapted to be separately releasably secured to said second part; (c) each of said first parts adapted to be permanently attached to the inner surface of a head covering; (d) said second part being permanently secured to the back of said hairclip. whereby said hat, secured by said kit will fasten comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 10. The kit of claim 9 wherein one of said first and second parts of said attachment means compromises a surface covered with flexible loops and the other of said parts compromises a surface with flexible hooks, said loops and hooks on said respective surfaces being releasably engageable with each other when manually pressed together.
 11. A kit for adapting a plurality of head coverings to be separately secured to head of the wearer, said kit comprising; (a) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member and manually not flexed to engage the hair of the wearer when not flexed open; (b) a releasable attachment means having a plurality of first parts and a second part, each of said plurality of first parts adapted to be separately releasably secured to said second part; (c) said second part being permanently secured to the back of said hairclip by an adhesive. whereby said hat, secured by said kit will fasten comfortably and firmly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means.
 12. A kit for adapting a plurality of head coverings to be separately secured to head of the wearer, said kit comprising; (d) a monolithic hairclip having a plurality of extruding parallel members above one perpendicular member both being adapted to sandwich the hair on the head of the wearer when said parallel members are flexed closed against the perpendicular member; (e) releasable attachment means having a plurality of first parts and a second part, each of said plurality of first parts adapted to be separately releasably secured to said second part; (f) an adhesive on one surface of each of said first parts; (g) a sheet of release material covering the adhesive on said one surface of each of said first parts; (h) each of said first parts adapted to be permanently attached to the inner surface of a head covering; (i) said second part being permanently secured to the back of said hairclip by an adhesive. whereby said hat, secured by said kit will fasten comfortably and tightly to the hair on the head of the wearer by an easy and convenient means. 